So Schlagater built him a staircase, and for the next few months made a point to not let any of the "bigger kids" stand on Kade's wooden steps.

Kade Contreras, of Cleveland, died Wednesday after a family member's treehouse fell on him on Christmas Eve in Southeast Texas.

The tragedy garnered national headlines, and sent shock waves through the 10,000 or so residents of the communities of Splendora and Cleveland, some 40 miles north of Houston.

A spokesman for the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, Lt. Scott Spencer, said that Kade Contreras was playing in the backyard treehouse at a relative's home in the Splendora area on Christmas Eve when one of the walls caved in and collapsed on him.

The boy was rushed to Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston with major head trauma and was taken off life support Wednesday afternoon after several tests showed no brain activity.

Kade Contreras was the youngest of four sons of Roy and Courtney Contreras, and grandson of Neil and Linda Stuckey, all of Cleveland.

On Thursday night, a few hundred yards away from the concession stand where Schlagater first met Kade a vigil was held for the boy.

A baseball mound was turned into a makeshift memorial, and 50 or so devastated community members listened solemnly to sermons and country music, the fire of their candles flickering in the cold, December night.

Regina Morris, of Touched By Faith Ministries, doesn't know the Contreras family. But like thousands of others, she was grief-struck by the news of the family's heartbreak, and wanted to show that the small community will support and remember them always.

"I don't see this as standing on a field of mourning or regret," she said from her sermon near the mound. "I see us standing on a field of dreams."

Others spoke briefly about the family, and finding strength in their religion and community.

"Kade brought people to Christ who hadn't bowed their heads in years," said one speaker.

"Amen," the crowd responded.

After the speeches, Schlagater and a few others stood quietly in the field. Two baseballs were added to the memorial, flanked on the mound by two photos and a dozen or so candles.

Schlagater said he plans to take the steps he built for Kade home with him. He might fashion his candle from the Thursday vigil on top of one of the stairs as a memorial to Kade.

Cleveland ISD Police Chief Rex Evans, acting as a spokesman for the Contreras family, declined to divulge the identity of the family member that owned the treehouse, but did say that the relative was "beyond distraught."

"It's nobody's fault, really," Evans said. "It's just one of those accidents that happen, you know?"

Spencer said the tree house was not professionally built, "just a regular treehouse built by family members." Montgomery County requires a permit for any treehouse that has a roof. It's not yet clear if the tree house that collapsed on Kade Contreras had a roof or a permit.

Friends and family members flooded social media with well-wishes and prayer messages for the Contreras family. Photos of Kade were plastered on Courtney Contreras' Facebook page, depicting a young boy with a heartwarming smile who loved sports and playing with his three brothers.

Kade's grandmother, Linda Stuckey posted several photographs of Kade, including a picture of him swinging a bat during a t-ball game, and another of him wearing a Texas Rangers baseball hat while holding up a banner for the Cleveland Youth Baseball Association. Kade's grandfather, Neil, is the vice president of the league.

"My Baby Kade," Linda Stuckey wrote in a Facebook post. "Grammy is lost without you but I'm thankful that your [sic] healed and in heaven playing right now."

A GoFundMe campaign has been launched to help the family with medical expenses.